Bookmark, a children’s literacy charity, has warned that school budget cuts will increase the gap in literacy between richer and poorer pupils. It is appealing for volunteers to listen to children read to help undo the damage caused by the pandemic. Adults can be paired with their local primary school or sign up from anywhere in the country to offer 30-minute online reading support twice a week, for six weeks. Helpers are in short supply and about 400 children aged between five and nine are on a waiting list. About one in four children leave primary school unable to read fluently and the head of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman, said it was one of her biggest concerns. “This year’s tests showed that nearly 175,000 pupils did not meet the expected standard in reading at the end of primary school. That means around a quarter of all Year 7s still have a reading age of below 11,” she added. Jane Whitbread, Chair of trustees at Schoolreaders, notes that one-to-one reading is a key element in helping a child learn to read.
Source: The Times
Categories: TIOB News